Slightly Off Centre
by lifeandtimesofabrokensoul
Summary: It was only a little kiss, a groundbreaking, earth-shattering, spine tingling kiss. Lily frowned, what was that all about?" James/Lily, need I say more...


"Lily?"

She paused slightly, gritting her teeth, before continuing to write about the advantages of using a gold-plated cauldron over a pewter one. _"the most obvious benefit-"_

"Lily," He persisted.

Obvious; it didn't sound right. Hmmm… other words for obvious… conspicuous, blatant, self-evident maybe? They all sounded so blah, she opened her thesaurus; obvious, obvious, obvious. There was obstreperous, and obstruct, followed by obstruction, obtain, obverse, ah hah, obvious: (adj) patent, unquestionable, unexceptionable, undeniable, self-evident, axiomatic; indubitable, incontrovertible, irrefragable, unanswerable, unimpeachable, absolute; admitting no question _or_ dispute_ or_ doubt _or _denial; demonstrable, provable, verifiable, testable, confirmable; well-founded, well-established, well-grounded; factual, real, historical, actual. But which one to use?

"Liiiillllyy," She frowned, _"for most witches or wizards, with adequate funds, a gold-plated cauldron is the most axiomatic choice. Purely to fulfill their craving for something special that would place them a cut above he re-"_ A wad of parchment bounced off her head. Her eyes narrowed and her writing became more angular and agitated as she thought through the many ways she could torture this source of annoyance. James bloody Potter.

In fourth year she thought it was kind of cute, the crush he had on her, but feelings of sweetness quickly escalated to frustration and anger by the end of fifth year; pretty soon after you couldn't be in the same room as Lily Evans and James Potter without risking parts of your anatomy. After becoming too tired to fight Lily just learned to ignore him, he on the other hand became more insistent and had not even come close to finishing his quest to annoy her at every opportunity. She had finally hoped that when they were both elected as Heads that he would tone it down a bit so they could at least work together, how very wrong she was. As much as she hoped it couldn't possibly get any worse, Potter never ceased to amaze, and it took every last cell in her body to just look unconcerned and ignore it all.

"LILY!"

"What?" She snapped, her eyes narrowing furiously, internally scolding herself for giving in to him.

"Finally," He sighed in exasperation, "I thought I'd have to get Sirius up here-" The look the redhead gave him quickly put him back on track, "I was just wondering if you had finished that essay for Slughorn yet."

Lily smiled sweetly, any sane human being would have run away in terror, but she didn't really class James as sane, "Well you see James, the thing is, I was working on it quite proficiently until _someone_ interrupted me." She said coldly, taking great satisfaction in the sight of his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, before turning back to her work.

"_-st. Both types of cauldron are extremely functional with only very slight differences in the final product, usually concerning taste."_ She looked at her work and ran her hands through her hair. The hairs on the back of her neck rose; his eyes were on her again, she could feel it. After being watched by him for the last three years Lily had picked up a sort of sixth sense that let her know exactly where he was in the room and whether or not he was watching her.

"What do you want James?" She asked monotonically without looking up from her work.

A slight colour rose on his tanned cheeks, "Oh, it doesn't matter." He mumbled, looking down.

She put her quill down and folded her hands together on the mahogany table in front of her. "To be honest I would much prefer you to just ask me what you want to know instead of just stare at me." He blushed some more.

"Ah yeah…well um, about that. Its nothi-" He mumbled, loosening his tie, as if more oxygen would help him find the words.

"The question James." She cut him off.

"Are you writing about the advantages for society or for the final product?" He blurted out quickly, closing his eyes as if mentally slapping himself. She wondered for a brief moment if that was what he really wanted to ask.

"I'm mentioning both but focusing mainly on the human instinct to covet luxury objects," She mistook his amused face for one of confusion and quickly added: "to covet means to desire greatly."

James' eyes narrowed, "I know what covet means," He grinned and leant back in his chair, "Did you want me to use it in a sentence?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "I'll be right thanks," He shrugged in a suit-yourself kind of way and she went back to the page in front of her. Great, she had lost her train of thought; she read back through her work and switched around parts of the phrasing so it sounded less aggressive.

"Lily?"

She let out a tired sigh and rubbed her temples, "Yes James?"

"What's your middle name?" He asked frowning down at the paper laid out before him.

She screwed her eyes shut and leant back in her chair, face tilted to the ceiling, "Why do you want to know?"

Sensing the undertone of irritation in her voice he quickly replied, "I need it for my divination homework."

"What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well we have to write about the evidence behind numerology and naming people, if it's all its cracked up to be or just a crock of shit."

"I really don't understand why you do that subject, and at a NEWT level."

"Well why do you do Ancient Runes? It's much the same thing after all, except there isn't the possibility of getting high in class time." He countered quickly.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Touché."

"So come on, 'fess up." She began to chew on her bottom lip. After knowing Lily for so long, okay so not really _knowing_ but observing her for so long he could tell that she was running through every outcome, good and bad, of revealing her middle name to him. After finally making up her mind, she looked him in the eye.

"This is just for your homework yeah? You're not going to go and tell Sirius and spread it round the entire school?"

He smiled, "Hmm, is it embarrassing?"

She nodded, a slight colour rising to her cheeks, "Why do you need mine, why can't you use yours?"

"Because my middle name and my first name have the same number so it defeats the purpose."

"What's your number?"

James smiled; this was probably one of the longest conversations that they had had without a mediator or the destruction of school property, "Three."

"Hmm, let me guess….. Very sure of himself, thinks he knows everything, complete inability to sit still for any amount of time and can't walk past a shiny surface without checking his hair?"

"Close," James said.

"Okay, if you tell me what your name means, then I'll give you my middle name." She said resting her chin on her left hand.

"You drive a hard bargain Evans," She just grinned. "I'm an entertainer, full of mischief and enthusiasm. A bit of a show-off and my clever way with words will make people think I'm cheeky but I'm such a warm person that it's impossible to stay mad at me for long," James spoke with a joking awe and his hand on his chest, Lily rolled her eyes, "Quick-witted with an easy going optimism, I love to be the centre of attention and am ambitious and quick thinking. Fortunately I'm very lucky so I don't get into much trouble, and I'm a very humorous and entertaining character." He finished with a proud smile.

Lily laughed, "I don't see why you still need my middle name; that explanation fits you perfectly."

"Well that's what I thought, but we have to provide three pieces of evidence."

"Hmm, did you do Sirius?"

James nodded, "He's a five, an adventurer," Lily snorted and James smiled with her, "a little chatterbox who will wear you out with his endless energy but also very caring and resilient."

"What's his middle name?"

"He would burn everything I own if I told you sorry, his number though is three like me." Lily nodded.

"Well I guess that makes sense. I still don't see why you need me?" She asked slightly confused.

"Well Remus' numbers are four and two: an organizer and sensitive soul. And your name is four, the organizer. But you and Remus are totally different so I wanted to know what your middle name was to see if it played a big part in defining who we are."

"What does four mean?" She asked curiously.

James searched back through his notes, "Um…fours are organizers. They are usually quiet and even tempered and are inclined to be a bit rebellious and every now and then will throw a tantrum to end all tantrums. Very trustworthy and can be relied upon to do whatever is required of them." He looked up at Lily who was listening intently. "Fours are the pillars of society, and are intelligent, understanding and generally placid individuals. It fits Remus perfectly, especially when combined with his two, but I don't quite see how you fit." He quickly added, "Because no offence or anything but you aren't the most placid of all creatures or even tempered." He looked at her, carefully gauging her reaction. She was frowning, James opened his mouth to back pedal, "I di-"

"My middle name is Sawyer," She interrupted, "What number is that?"

James' mouth snapped shut, "Um, I'll just look….one. Ah, now that makes more sense," he muttered to himself. Lily was watching him anxiously he looked at her blankly, "What?"

Her eyes bulged, "What does it mean?!" she cried in exasperation.

"Oh right, sorry" he muttered, looking back at his notes, "Ones are the born leaders. Very confident and will keep right on going with a problem until it is solved. Are inclined to become a bit too bossy and domineering if others are not strong enough to stand up to them. They are very ambitious and tenacious individuals who are well respected and popular."

"Well I guess that fits me better," Lily said with a slight frown still gracing her features.

James who had been watching her quickly realized something and began laughing uncontrollably, "Your mi-" he choked out, "middle name is-" Lily's face was beginning to turn scarlet in a fusion of embarrassment and anger, "Sawyer!" After managing out that last word, James collapsed on the table, still shaking with laughter.

"It's not my fault!" Lily shouted indignantly, "My dad likes Mark Twain okay? And I was meant to be a boy, but I was a girl so I got stuck with Lily Sawyer instead. It's better than Huckleberry," Huffing she folded her arms across her chest.

He tried to control his laughter, shaking from the effort, a deep red colour gathering on the smooth planes of his cheeks. James took a few calming breaths, "No I like it, it-"

She glared at him murderously, "If you tell me it's pretty I will beat you to death with this chair,"

"I was going to say it suits you," James finished, watching her eye him suspiciously, "I don't mean to offend you at all but are you a Daddy's girl by any chance?"

Her jaw dropped in horror, "How dare you! What does that have to do with anything?"

He rolled his eyes at her defensive nature, "I just meant it would explain why you fit your middle name better than your first one."

Lily deflated like one of those waving-inflatable-arm-tube-men whose little motorized fan had just been switched off, "Oh,"

"Sorry about laughing at you," He added. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile, "It really is a cute middle name."

"What's yours?"

"Completely mortifying and top secret," He joked.

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"It is, trust me."

"Oh come on," Lily whined, "I told you mine." She tried giving him the good ole' puppy dog eyes.

"Lily please don't look at me like that, you remind me of Sirius. Besides, I gave you something in return." He started to pack away his papers and screwed the lid back on his inkpot.

Lily had started gnawing at her bottom lip again; she really wanted to know what his middle name was. She didn't really know why she was so desperate to know it, just that she was. James had finished packing up and was headed off to his room, "What would you want in return?" She blurted out without thinking, screwing her eyes shut in horror. What was she thinking? You don't just offer yourself to Marauder, especially one who had had an infatuation with you for the last few years. When she opened them, James had turned around and was looking down at her obviously having fun. She took a deep breath, "Seriously, what would you want?"

He casually sat down on the table next to her, "Hmm, well the obvious thing would be a date," Lily went to interject but he raised his hand, indicating for her to wait. "But I would much prefer our first date to be out of your own free will, not some deal involving my humiliating middle name."

Lily scowled at his sureness that there would be a date in the future but she had no time to brood over that now. It appeared that James had finally decided on something and was beaming at her maniacally.

After staring at him impatiently to what felt like, to her, forever she burst out "Well?"

"I want a kiss." He answered in a tone that could only be described as jubilant.

"Is that all?" She asked in disbelief, "I have to kiss you?"

"No, my dear, you do not get to kiss me," James explained, "I get to kiss you,"

Lily felt her stomach drop; she was getting an increasingly bad feeling about all of this. "You," she croaked, "Kiss me?"

He nodded, "Wherever I want,"

"But… What if-" She ran through countless ideas in her head that she could substitute instead of a kiss, unfortunately she was coming up blank. Damn him! Why did he have to be so difficult? Why did she want to know his middle name so bad? Lily was becoming more and more annoyed with herself.

She could ask Sirius or Remus, they'd be sure to know it. Don't be so stupid Lily, she berated herself, there was no way in hell that they would tell her, especially if it was as embarrassing as James was making it out to be. Maybe it wasn't embarrassing at all and he was just playing her, it could be something normal like Paul or Andrew, but there was no way to know for sure.

What could it hurt? It was only one little kiss, what would it matter where it was. Lily took back that thought almost as instantly as it came; it was James after all, second only to Sirius in the notoriety department. She gave James a hard look, "Can I add another condition?"

James who had been watching her, as usual, gave her an easy smile, "Well that depends entirely on what that condition is Blossom," Lily scowled at the unwanted nickname.

"I get to keep all of my clothes on," She said firmly.

James feigned shock, "Why on earth would you take them off?"

Lily rolled her eyes and said dryly, "Cute Potter, do we have a deal?"

He gave her one of his specialty smiles and put out all the charm, "Of course,"

Still eyeing him warily, Lily slowly rose and stood in front of him. James stood up and Lily was again reminded of how tall he was when her line of sight fell onto his loosened Gryffindor tie. He gently lifted her chin so she was looking up into his complacent face and leant down.

Lily pulled back slightly, "Aren't you going to tell me what your middle name is?"

"Obviously I am, but you will laugh and I would much rather kiss a still girl than a hysterical one," She frowned, "Don't you trust me? I am known for being a man of my word."

Lily snorted, "That's not what I heard,"

"Just trust me okay?" She pressed her lips together in an attempt to stop smiling, "Could you please be serious?" James asked, quickly regretting his wording. In an unsuccessful attempt to keep herself from giggling, Lily released a strange snorting noise that made James laugh as well, "Okay, so don't be Sirius, be…" He honestly could not think of another word.

"Staid?" Lily suggested.

He frowned, "What does staid mean?"

"To be steady or sedated in manner,"

He rolled his eyes, she truly was a walking dictionary, and nodded, "Be staid," James lifted her face again and slowly started to move closer.

Lily was beginning to get nervous, she wasn't sure if he could tell or not, though it wouldn't be hard. She wasn't sure if she should shut her eyes. If she did it would be more like a real kiss and let's face it, it was pretty real already but if she didn't then it would be really strange and totally awkward. "Do you want me to close my eyes?"

James chuckled, "Your choice,"

"Oh, well I don't really mind and it is your kiss after all so I thought you…" Lily trailed off nervously.

"Are you always this strange when about to kiss someone?" James joked, watching her wring her hands in front of her in a manner he found incredibly cute, "Just relax okay, closed eyes are probably better, it'd be a bit weird if you didn't."

Lily nodded and obediently closed her eyes, puckering her lips without thinking. She knew he was close and could feel his warm breath clouding her senses. Letting out a shaky breath she could feel her heart beating in her throat, the closer James got the faster it thumped against her sternum. Apart from her heart the world was going in slow motion.

His lips lightly pressed against the corner of her mouth and Lily's breath got caught in her throat. It was as if a spark had ignited something deep inside. But before she had a chance to kiss back he had pulled away and her lips felt cold from the lack of contact.

Her eyes flew open in bewilderment and her mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. "But-"

James had picked up his belongings and was walking to his room, she faintly registered him calling over his shoulder, and "My middle name is Wendell by the way,"

She stood there for a little while frowning at his door, half expecting him to come out and say he was joking and kiss her properly. He had barely grazed her lips; you would think that someone with a reputation like James would have a bit better aim. What if he missed on purpose? Why on earth would he do that? If those were the feelings she got from a slightly off-centre peck imagine what a full-on snog would be like? No, she thought shaking her head, it was a good thing it was just a peck now he won't make a big deal out of it. Still, why was she making a big deal about it?

It was only a little kiss, a groundbreaking, earth-shattering, spine tingling kiss. Lily frowned, what the hell was that all about.

***

**A/N: Well after five months it is finally finished! I probably rewrote this thing about a billion times and after all that effort it's here. So tell me what you guys think and leave a review, I am seriously contemplating writing a sequel/companion piece for it so any thoughts on that would be great also. **


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